CRICKETERS Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid were spotted running away from champagne sprays during England’s World Cup win celebrations, and the Birmingham-born player said they did so to stay true to their faith.
Both Ali and Rashid are practicing Muslims and consumption of alcohol not permissible in Islam.
Writing for The Guardian, Moeen said: "We respect our teammates and their desire to do this, they respect our beliefs. It’s really that simple.”
He added: "The amazing thing about our team is that guys took time out very early on to talk to us about our religion and our culture.
"They have made adjustments for us and we have for them.
"And we live in harmony."
The all-rounder added: "It doesn’t matter where you come from or what you believe in, if you can come together with a common purpose – in our case winning the World Cup – and you show courage, unity and respect (our team mantra) you can achieve anything.”
In a press conference following England’s victory, captain Eoin Morgan attributed the team’s diversity as one of their main strengths.
When asked if he enjoyed the famed luck of the Irish, Morgan said Allah was also with them.
He replied: "I spoke to Adil, he said Allah was definitely with us.
“It actually epitomises our team.
"Quite diverse backgrounds and cultures and guys grow up in different countries and to actually find humour in the situation we were in at times was pretty cool.”
Sangeeta Datta
Scenes from the rehearsal
Scenes from the rehearsal
